A US judge has barred prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down a health insurance CEO in New York in December 2024.
The judge dismissed two charges against Mr Mangione that could carry the death penalty: murder and using a gun with a silencer.
The 27-year-old suspect is still charged with two counts of stalking in his federal case, and faces state-level murder charges.
Today's decision "is solely to foreclose the death penalty as an available punishment to be considered by the jury," Judge Margaret Garnett wrote in a court filing.
Mr Mangione faces life in prison without parole if convicted of the stalking charges. The federal trial is to begin with jury selection on 8 September.
The murder of United Healthcare executive Brian Thompson, captured on surveillance video, shocked the United States and exposed public anger with the profit-driven private healthcare system.
Mr Mangione was arrested five days after the killing at a McDonald's restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, some 370 kilometers from the crime scene, following a tip from a staff member.
In another significant ruling, Judge Garnett rejected Mr Mangione's lawyers' efforts to suppress as evidence the police search of a backpack recovered at the time of his arrest.
Inside, officers found a handgun, a silencer, a magazine with bullets wrapped in underwear and a red notebook described as a "manifesto".
The defence argued the search breached legal standards.
Mr Mangione has pleaded not guilty to the state and federal charges.
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